The criminal justice process is a complicated and delicate procedure, where the need for criminal justice practitioners cannot be underestimated. Practitioners have a specific role in the justice system; they function within federal, state, and local jurisdictions. Their responsibilities differ depending on the subsystem assignment, and they can function along with other specialties to solve and prevent horrid crimes. There are several key social issues, which contribute to the need for criminal justice practitioners, which include substance abuse, violence against women, and cybercrimes.
The first critical social issue is the substance abuse and crime cycle, a direct product of substance abuse. In some cases, arrested people tend to showcase immediate signs of substance abuse. However, around 60 percent of detained people test positively for drugs. In 2016, nearly 45% of the prison population was there for substance-related offenses, and 65% of the prison population had an active substance use disorder (Asquith et al., 2016). The situation did not change much for almost four years, and substance abuse is still a dynamic problem worldwide. Drug crimes are the majority of work for criminal justice practitioners because drugs and other substances are responsible for a plurality of other offenses. Many criminal justice professionals have dedicated their lives to fight substance abuse and drug dealing by using more effective laws and policies.
The second issue is violence against women, which is a very sharp social issue in the modern world. According to the official statistics, about 1.3 million women suffer from intimate partner violence each year, and one out of three women have experienced this type of abuse (Korkodeilou, 2016). Globally, a third of women murders are committed by their intimate partner (Korkodeilou, 2016). Criminal justice practitioners can prevent such fate because they offer mental and financial support to intimate partner violence victims. Moreover, there is some evidence that home visitation is reducing this kind of abuse significantly.
Stalking is another major problem related to violence against women, a form of harassment when women receive unwanted attention from another person. According to statistics, 8% of women have experienced stalking at some point in their lives (Korkodeilou, 2016). Stalking is an example of dangerous social behavior that directly threatens one’s life because most of the stalking results in physical or sexual violence. Criminal justice practitioners usually help the victims of stalking mentally and conduct further investigation into the case. The United States is ranked as the worst country with human trafficking that originated from stalking, and that is why women should be protected better by law.
Another critical issue, which criminal justice practitioners help to fight is cybercrime. It includes data breaches, cyberbullying (which is a form of ongoing harassment), identity theft, extortion (Jones & Bonner, 2016). Cybercrime became extremely dangerous when the internet appeared, which is why the criminal justice system tries to focus on it more as of recent years. Criminal justice practitioners help gather crucial information and evidence concerning cybercriminal, and they bring those dangerous people to justice.
To conclude, the criminal justice process can be a delicate procedure, so the need for criminal justice practitioners cannot be undermined. Practitioners have a rather specific role in the justice system because they function within three subsystems. There are several key issues that they have to address first. One is substance abuse, which is the root cause of the majority of other crimes. The second problem is violence against women, whether it is intimate partner violence or stalking. The third fundamental problem is cybercrime, where practitioners tend to gather crucial information and bring cybercriminals to justice.
References
Asquith, N. L., Bartkowiak-Theron, I., & Roberts, K. (2016). Vulnerability and the criminal justice system. Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice, 2(3), 161-163. Web.
Jones, M. & Bonner, H.S. (2016) What Should Criminal Justice Interns Know? Comparing the Opinions of Student Interns and Criminal Justice Practitioners. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 27(3), 381-409, Web.
Korkodeilou, J. (2016). Stalking victims, victims of sexual violence and criminal justice system responses: is there a difference or just ‘Business as usual’? The British Journal of Criminology, 56(2), 256–273. Web.